Clause 18

Part of Local Transport Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:15 pm on 24 April 2008.

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Photo of Ann Winterton Ann Winterton Conservative, Congleton 3:15, 24 April 2008

The intention of the hon. Gentleman’s amendment is to remove the power to specify in regulations a minimum interval between reviews of requirements in quality partnership schemes about frequencies, timings  or maximum fares. A provision in the draft Bill stipulated that if a quality partnership scheme included requirements as to maximum fares, it must also include in the scheme, among other things, provision for a minimum period between reviews of such fare levels. When making a scheme, authorities would have been under an obligation to stipulate that minimum demand. In response to the views of interested parties on the draft Bill we made a number of amendments to those provisions. One was to replace the requirement for operator agreement to the setting of maximum fares with a process whereby operators can object to, but not veto, requirements on frequencies and timings, as well as maximum fares.

Another change was to take a regulation-making power so that details about what must be included in a scheme can be prescribed in secondary legislation, to ensure that certain requirements are reviewed on a regular basis. We believe that provides a much more flexible approach to dealing with what are sensitive and difficult issues. The Bill now includes a power to make regulations on when and how requirements about frequencies, timings and fares should be reviewed. Among other things, it includes a power to specify in those regulations a minimum interval between such reviews.

We need to ensure that we strike the appropriate balance between enabling authorities to take an innovative approach to improving local bus services, while protecting the legitimate interests of bus operators. The intention is to ensure that appropriate powers are available to prevent operators from demanding frequent reviews for frivolous or vexatious reasons, which could seriously disrupt the effectiveness of the scheme and could erode the passenger benefits arising from it. In a sense, that addresses the point made by the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington.